Fading Senses
by Katrina S. Forest
Summary: When Yui is blinded after a vision from Suzaku, that's enough for Miaka to decide to return to Konan and investigate. But why would Suzaku contact the Seiryu priestess? PostEikoden.
1. Chapter 1

Fading Senses by Katrina Kadabra

_Disclaimer: Characters belong to the talented Yuu Watase. I do not own them or anything relating to Fushigi Yuugi thereof._

**Chapter 1**

Yui Hongo stood gazing at the world around her. It was a strange world, with a vast expense of dark blue sky and pink and orange mists of clouds swirled at Yui's feet. She wondered where she was and how she came to be here. The last thing she remembered was her eyes getting heavy as she sat reading one of her favorite books by her bedside lamp. In all likelihood, she had fallen asleep while doing so.

"So… is this a dream?" Yui pondered aloud. She tried jumping into the air to see if perhaps she would fly, or at least remain suspended. Nothing. She simply came back down to earth again as she always would. Yui was a bit disappointed.

"Well, if it is a dream," she muttered. "Then it's a pretty boring one."

At that moment, Yui turned her head at the sound of something like a bird cawing. She saw a warm red light beginning to form, and from this light, a glittering red phoenix.

"Suzaku?" Yui questioned. All sorts of thoughts ran wildly through her mind. What was Suzaku doing here, especially now since everything in the book was more than over? Then again, they had thought it to be over more than once before, and Suzaku still returned. One would think Yui was used to it by now.

The phoenix flapped its wings a bit as it landed, glancing in Yui's direction with a sad, almost mournful looked to its eyes. As Yui stood and watched, the clouds around her suddenly turned dark and threatening. Rising up, they began to move towards Suzaku, swallowing the phoenix in darkness. A figure stood the side, apparently the one controlling the clouds. Yui looked closer to try and make out his face, but as she did, there was painfully bright flash of light. Yui screamed and covered her eyes, everything around her went black.

Miaka Yuuki sat nervously in the car with her newly wed husband Taka as they rushed down the street. She couldn't help but be apprehensive. This morning Taka, Keisuke, and Tetsuya were supposed to spend the day at a soccer game while she and Yui went out to do some shopping and give Miaka a well-deserved rest from taking care of the baby. But just about twenty minutes ago, Tetsuya had called her house asking them to come down to the hospital right away. Something about Yui. He wouldn't give anymore details except that he said it wasn't life-threatening. A lot of good that did. Calm as she tried to be, Miaka could not help but wonder what had happened to her friend for Tetsuya to call like that. Was she sick? Did she break something? Miaka's mind quickly began to fathom the worse scenarios possible until finally Taka reached his hand over and gently rubbed her hand.

"It's okay, Miaka," he said reassuringly. "I'm sure Yui will be okay. In the meantime, you need to calm down. You won't do anybody any good if you're this worked up."

Miaka smiled and nodded. Taka was right, as usual. But still... still she wouldn't be calm until she found out what was wrong with her friend, and more importantly, how to help her. At last, Taka pulled the car into the hospital parking lot in the first available spot he could find.

"Let's go," he said, turning the engine off. Nervously Miaka nodded and took Taka's hand as they headed into the hospital building.

"No, not Hogo. Hongo. Yui Hongo." An exasperated Miaka repeated her best friend's name to the rather clueless receptionist for at least the hundredth time. The little old lady adjusted her glasses and squinted at the computer screen once again.

"Ah, okay. Can you spell that?"

Miaka groaned. "H, O, N, G..."

"Miaka!" Tetsuya's voice called out. Miaka glanced up happily, never thinking she'd be so happy to her him talk. Quickly she dropped her conversation with the receptionist and hurried over to where Yui's boyfriend was standing.

"Glad you could made it," he said, shaking Miaka's hand. "I'm sorry for calling you out so sudden like this." Tetsuya paused as he let out a long yawn.

"Don't worry about it," said Taka, raising an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, I'm just a little tired."

"How long have you been here?" Taka asked.

"Since three this morning, when Yui called me." He glanced longingly back at the room he has just come out of. "She's asleep now, though."

"Oh, that's right!" Miaka exclaimed. She couldn't believe she'd allowed the two guys to start drifting off the topic. She had come here to help her friend. "What's wrong with Yui?"

"Well," said Tetsuya, not quite sure how to explain the scenario. "Maybe you should sit down." Miaka didn't like that suggestion one bit. Sitting down was always what they told you to do when something had gone really wrong. But somehow or another, she ended up in a seat next to Taka.

"I don't know how to put this," he said quietly. "But something happened to Yui last night. Something she can't explain."

"What?" Miaka demanded, now more than a little annoyed with Tetsuya's indirect answers. "What happened to her?"

"Miaka," Tetsuya said sternly. "Miaka, she's blind."


	2. Chapter 2

**Fading Senses - Chapter 2**

_Disclaimer: See last chapter_

_Update: I have up to the first four chapters of this on my website, if anyone wants to read ahead. I also posted an original Christmas story this morning. Thanks for reading! _

**  
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"Blind?" Miaka gasped, jumping up. "When? How...?"

"She doesn't know. All she could tell me was that she woke up from this strange dream and she couldn't see. That's when she called me and I came and took her to the hospital."

Miaka staggered back in shock. Though she understood Tetsuya's words, she did not want to believe them. How could something like this happen? Why now, after all of them had finally gotten to settle down into normal lives once again? Taka gently stood and held his wife by the shoulders both to help calm her and stop her from falling backwards.

"What do the doctors say it is?" he asked.

"They don't know yet. They're still doing some tests. They were hammering her with questions earlier about whether she'd been staring at the sun too long or anything else like that."

Miaka violently shook her head. "That can't be it. Yui would never do something so foolish."

"I don't believe it either. You can talk to her yourself when she wakes up."

Miaka slowly made her way back down to her seat. She couldn't fathom it, it didn't make any sense. And as much as she tried to resist, Miaka couldn't help but wonder if there was anything she could have done to stop it. Taka put a loving arm around Miaka, caressing her gently, while Tetsuya sat across from them, trying to rest a bit. He wanted to be in there with Yui, but the nurses said it would be best for him to let her alone. He needed his rest as much as she did. Not that sleeping was anywhere on his mind right now.

Still, it only took about fifteen minutes before a nurse emerged from Yui's room.

"She's awake," she informed the group sitting in the lounge. "And she's asking for you."

Tetsuya stood up first. "Okay, thank you." He glanced over at Miaka, who in turn glanced at Taka.

"You go ahead," Taka whispered. "I'll wait here for you." Miaka nodded nervously and stood up to follow Tetsuya the three doors down the hall towards Yui's room.

The room was a bit small, but with only one bed, next to a window that overlooked a lovely view of the city. And in the bed, sat Yui dressed in a hospital down, clutching the sheet at her chest, her face towards the window, feeling the warmth of the morning sun. But as Miaka and Tetsuya entered the room, she quickly turned her head towards the sound of the opening door.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"It's me, Yui," Tetsuya said, as if he had just come back from the soccer game he was supposed to watch that morning. Yui smiled and reached out her hand, which Tetsuya took lovingly, giving her a warm embrace before sitting down at her bedside. He glanced back at Miaka, who stood still as a statue in the doorway as Tetsuya motioned with his head for her to come in. Nervously Miaka walked forward, the heels of her shoes making a loud clacking sound with each step she took. Yui turned her head again.

"Someone else?" she inquired. For some reason, Miaka found herself scared to reply.

"H-hello, Yui," she finally got out. Upon hearing her best friend's voice, Yui's face broke into a smile.

"Miaka, you made it, good," she said. "Sit down, I want to talk to you." Miaka found it very awkward that Yui seemed so terribly calm, but she supposed that wasn't a bad thing and took a seat next to Tetsuya. The boyfriend reluctantly gave up Yui's hand to Miaka.

"I'm sorry for dragging you out here so early," she began. "I don't really need to be in a hospital, it's just that there aren't exactly any eye doctors open at three in the morning."

Miaka tried to laugh at Yui's joke, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. How could Yui be so relaxed? Even after everything that had happened? Something in Miaka's heart feared that she wasn't nearly as calm as she let on. Still, Miaka wanted to try and cheer her friend up, so she decided she'd better move the topic to a more positive light.

"So... when do the doctors say you're going to get your sight back?" she asked pleasantly. From the way the smile on Yui's face fell and the evil glare Tetsuya shot in her direction, Miaka wondered if she could have possibly said anything worse. She quickly clamped her hand over her mouth.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Yui, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," said Yui, brushing a tear away from her eye. "You didn't know. And Tetsuya, stop looking at her like she just murdered your firstborn child." From the confused pause that followed her comment, Yui proceeded to explain, "He's been really protective of me since I got here. He gets furious if someone upsets me."

"I can't help it," said Tetsuya. "I just want you to be happy."

"I will be," Yui assured him. "Really, I just… need to adjust."

At that point, there was a third knocking on the door, and a third person entered into the room.

"Miss Hongo," her voice chimed. "I've brought you some breakfast." It was the nurse who had called Miaka into the room earlier, apparently she was also the one assigned to take care of her friend.

"Oh great," said Yui with a playful bit of sarcasm. "I get hospital food."

The nurse giggled and set up a plastic tray that attached itself to Yui's bedside and rotated in front of her. She then placed in on top of it a plate of food that Yui could feel stream rising from into her face.

"So, what have we got here?" Yui asked, even though she could already guess from the scent what it was.

"Let's see…" said Tetsuya. "Looks like French toast, syrup, orange juice, and…" he poked at the last item with a plastic spork. "And I think that's sausage, but I'm not entirely sure. Do you want me to cut it up for you?" Yui nodded, so Tetsuya picked up the plastic utentils and set to work.

"It's sausage," the nurse assured him, then turned and patted Yui's shoulder. "And you dear," (she called everyone dear.) "You just tell me if there's anything else you need. And don't let this guy baby you too much. You let him keep this up and you'll never be independent."

"Thank you," Yui said, though in truth, independent seemed as far from her now as north from south. However, the nurse seemed satisfied enough with her reply, so she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Say, Miaka?" Yui asked, trying not to get hit by Tetsuya's elbow. "I still need to tell you something. Did you bring Taka with you, but any chance?"

"Yes," Miaka replied. "Mayo's back at the house taking care of the baby."

"Could you ask him to come in? I think he should hear this too."


	3. Chapter 3

**Fading Senses - Chapter 3**

"You see, last night I had this weird dream," Yui began to explain. "I was standing in these swirling clouds, and then I saw Suzaku appear in front of me."

"Suzaku?" Taka asked in shock. Yui nodded and continued,

"He seemed injured, or at least weaker than I remembered them. Then the clouds around me turned dark and began to swallow him up." She gripped her wrists. "I tried to help him, but the force was much too strong. As I watched, the clouds began to form a figure, but before I got a good look at his face, there was this bright flash of light. That's when I woke up and... and called Tetsuya."

"I see," said Taka. "So you're saying you think this dream is some kind of vision from Suzaku?"

"I think so, yes. And I also think whoever that figure was didn't want me to see the end of it."

"But why would Suzaku contact Yui, of all people?" Miaka asked. "I mean, she's the priestess of Seiryu."

"Former priestess," Yui corrected.

"Not necessarily," said Taka. "Until a new priestess is found, you'd still be the priestess of Seiryu."

Yui shrugged her shoulders. It wasn't exactly a title she was fond of; all it did was remind her how she'd hurt her friends in her jealousy and anger.

"What I want to know about is this black figure. I mean, if Suzaku really is trying to send a message to Yui, and he's powerful enough to intervene like this, who knows what else he's capable of?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you," Yui said. "I think you and Miaka have to go back into the book to find out."

At Yui's suggestion, Miaka's jaw almost dropped.

"G-go back into the book again?" she questioned. "Now? Almost four years later?"

"I know it's a lot to ask with the baby and everything," Yui said calmly. "But I'm afraid the book is danger. And if we don't do something, our world may suffer too. We've fought too much to ignore this." Yui gripped the blanket in front her, frustrated that she couldn't read Taka or Miaka's expressions, though the silence that followed her remark seemed to say enough. Maybe it really was too much. Maybe she shouldn't have suggested it at all.

"Finished!" Tetsuya suddenly announced, placing the utensils he'd been using to cut Yui's food gingerly in her hands. "Eat up, Yui."

"Tetsuya," Taka said. "Do you think we could talk with you outside?"

Tetsuya looked at Taka, then back at Yui, who still kept her hand on his arm to re-affirm his presence there. He hated to leave her alone.

"Can't we talk in here?" he asked. Tamahome shook his head, and Tetsuya sighed. He stood up and rubbed Yui's shoulder, promising he'd be back in just a minute. Yui nodded and went back to eating.

"This had better be important," Tetsuya mumbled as soon as they had stepped out of the door. "Do you know how hard that was?"

"Listen," said Taka. "I think what Yui is saying makes a lot of sense. I don't think that dream of hers is just a dream. The book really is in danger, and if that's the case, then I think Miaka and I have no choice but to go back."

"So go ahead," said Tetsuya. "I'm certainly not stopping you."

"That's the thing," said Taka. "I think... that Yui needs to come with us too."

Tetsuya responded to Taka with the same angry glare he'd given Miaka earlier. "Now that's asking too much," he said.

"But she's the one receiving the visions from Suzaku," Taka pointed out. "What if Suzaku tries to contact her again?"

"And what if you take her back into that stupid book and she gets hurt?" Tetsuya demanded. Frustrated, he moved away from the door just a bit more to assure that Yui did not hear him. "I read the book, what almost happened to her the first time she went back in. And I know it was nobody's fault, but..." He made a fist. "But the thought of her going back in her condition, and I can't even be there to protect her... I'm sorry, it's just too much."

The trio stood in silence while Miaka got this thoughtful look on her face. "Well," she said. "Well, why don't you come with us?" The two men stared at her like she'd gone nuts.

"What? How can I go with you?" Tetsuya asked. "I'm not a character in the book like you guys are."

"You are a character, though," Miaka pointed out. "Don't you remember? When Yui wished herself back to our world, she made a connection between the book and reality. And the pages of the book started writing about what was happening in the real world, including everything about you and Keisuke."

Tetsuya thought back for a moment. That's right; he had become a character in the book. He remembered bragging about it to Keisuke several times. But did that really mean that he could travel in and out of it just like Miaka or Taka could? Tetsuya wasn't sure of all the answers, but if it meant he could stay by Yui's side, he was willing to try just about anything.

"Alright, say I do go with you," he said. "What do you plan to do once you get there?"

"I guess we'll travel to Konan first," said Miaka. "After that we'll just have to see. I'm sure we'll get more clues about our enemy once we arrive."

Tetsuya looked hesitantly at the ground. It seemed he was running out of objections. "Let's ask Yui what she thinks," he said quietly.

Yui was a little surprised to hear Miaka's suggestion about her returning to the book with them, but even more so when she said that Tetsuya was planning to come along.

"I really don't know what help I'll be," Yui admitted. "I think I'll just be a burden."

"You won't be," Miaka said. "Yui, we wouldn't ask you to come unless we needed you. We have to make sure Suzaku can still contact us."

"I guess…" Yui mused. Miaka noticed her grip on her hand was tightening.

"Are you scared?" Miaka asked quietly. Yui nodded, so Miaka took her hand and held it up to her face. "Yui, I swear on my life I won't let anything bad happen to you. I know everyone else feels the same."

Yui felt the warmth of Miaka's friendship; she did not doubt her words. And after all she had done in the book, didn't she owe the people there a chance to try and save it?

"Okay, I'll go," Yui said. At this, Miaka jumped up and down cheering like a schoolgirl. Yui sweatdropped; she could see the whole scene in her mind, Miaka bouncing up and down and Taka having to keep her calm.

"But first..." Yui said. "Do you think I can change out of these hospital clothes?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It took an hour or so to get Yui checked out of the hospital. The nurse said she didn't like it at all; Yui had not undergone any rehabilitation whatsoever. She didn't have a clue how to find her way anywhere. Yui responded that she appreciated the help, but that it was important that she leave as soon as possible. The nurse really couldn't do anything about it, except to give Yui a cane to help her get around, which she immediately told Tetsuya to put in his backpack and never take out again.

"What's the matter?" Tetsuya asked as they left the hospital with Yui clinging to his arm. "She was just trying to help."

"I know," Yui said. "And I'm sure she means well. It's just that I hate the thought of looking so... so..." she struggled to find the word, but Tetsuya found it first.

"Blind?" he finished off. Yui scowled and clung tighter, not caring to humor his obvious answer. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on Tetsuya's arm. Maybe that way, she reasoned, they would simply seem to being affectionate to the passers-by, and it wouldn't be so horribly obvious just how much she needed his arm to be there.

"What? What do you mean you're going back?"

It took about five minutes for Miaka to explain the scenario to Maiyo once they arrived home, and the girl took it exactly how the group of them expected her to take it - not at all.

"We have to go back into the book, otherwise something terrible will happen," Yui tried to re-explain.

"So what you're just going to leave me here?" Maiyo demanded.

"Well," said Miaka hesitantly, since that was exactly what she was about to suggest. "We could use someone to watch the baby."

"Wait a second," said Taka thoughtfully. "Maybe Maiyo does need to come with us."

"Huh?" Everyone turned around to stare at him, even Yui made her best attempt to shoot a rather shocked look in his direction.

"Well..." Taka hesitated. "She is the new priestess of Suzaku after all." At the possibility of sounding important as well as needed, Maiyo brightened up considerably. But Tetsuya was still skeptical.

"I don't know... didn't you say she was tricked by a fake Suzaku?"

At that comment, Yui pictured the hair on Maiyo's neck standing on end, a small vein protruding from her forehead.

"Yes, that's true. But remember that not just anyone can go into that book. The real Suzaku called her in, however inadvertently."

"That's right!" Maiyo objected. "And this time, maybe, I can be the real heroine."

Yui sighed. Maybe to Maiyo this was all fun and games, but she had learned first hand that the book was nothing to messed around with. Plus, it didn't matter what anyone said, Miaka was still the only priestess of Suzaku in her eyes.

"This is no game," Tetsuya said sternly, as if reading Yui's thoughts. "If you're coming, you have to take it seriously."

"I will, I will," Maiyo assured him, though it didn't sound that much like she meant it at all. "But on one condition."

"And what's that?" Yui asked.

"I want Keisuke to come with me. Otherwise, I won't do it." Again, the group groaned. Maiyo felt the tide of sympathy quickly drifting away from her, so she tried to change tactics. "But Taka gets to go with Miaka," she pleaded, trying her best to work up some realistic tears in her eyes. "And Yui is bringing Tetsuya with her."

"Taka's one of the celestial warriors, and you know perfectly well why Yui needs Tetsuya with her," said Miaka sternly.

"I know, but Hongo-san's so much wiser and more experienced than I am," said Maiyo. "I'm still young and don't know much about the book yet. I need someone to be there for me."

"Since when do you call me Hongo-san?" Yui asked, having never heard Maiyo so suddenly respectful before. Maiyo ignored the interruption and continued,

"Please ask him to come, Miaka. And I promise I'll bring some yummy deserts from home with me."

"Oh, please," Yui muttered, mostly to herself. "Miaka's nineteen years old now. There's no way she'd fall for such a childish..."

"Aw, gee, Taka, we've just got to ask Keisuke to come along!" Miaka said lovingly. Yui sighed. So much for maturity.

Still needing a baby-sitter, Miaka and Taka hired out Maiyo's best friend, who was all too happy to take the job. That turned out to be the easy part. The difficult thing was going to be talking to Keisuke.

Miaka's older brother was just on the verge of graduating from university, with a major in ancient civilizations, of all things. He'd been extremely helpful with discovering all sorts of hidden information about the mysterious Universe of the Four Gods.

"Wow... I can't believe you're going back again," he said. "And with Yui blind on top of it? She's got to be taking this pretty hard."

"Actually, she's taking it pretty well," Taka pointed out.

"Don't be so sure," said Miaka. "Yui acts confident, but I've known her since we were I kindergarten. She's terrified. That's why she clings to Tetsuya so much."

"Well, I can't blame her," said Keisuke. "I mean, think how you would feel if you were in that position, Miaka."

"Miaka was in that position," Taka said. "When she caught the plague the first time she went into the book. And she had a weakening fever on top of it."

Keisuke raised an eyebrow. Apparently he had missed this part. "And what did she do?" he asked.

"She chased down a guy twice her size over a fish."

Keisuke rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, that's my little sister," he sighed. "So what do you need me this time for? Something I should look up for you?"

"Actually," said Taka, rubbing the back of his head. "We were kinda hoping you could come with us."

"What?" Keisuke asked.

"Tetsuya's coming too," Miaka reminded him. "So I'm sure if he can get in, you can as well. It's just a matter of holding on and concentrating on entering the book with us."

"Did Maiyo want me to come?" Keisuke asked skeptically.

Miaka winced. "Sort of, yeah," she replied. "But you might be helpful, since you know a lot more about the book... that and... I really think we need Maiyo with us." She wasn't sure if Keisuke was going to buy all this. He didn't exactly want to encourage Maiyo's childish crush on him. Then again...

"Alright, I'll do it," Keisuke agreed. Miaka cheered and hugged her brother's arm.

"Thanks a lot," said Taka, patting his shoulder.

"Hey, just don't say I don't help you guys out, okay?"

_Author's Notes: For those who have seen the Fushigi Yuugi anime but not read the manga, Miaka originally becomes blind from the Shikoki disease, hence the reference in this_ _chapter. Also, for those who wandered onto my website looking for more of the fic, I'm so sorry if you were met with a broken link. The problem is fixed now, I promise. At least, I tested it and it worked, so if it's still not working for you, let me know ASAP. Thanks for reading (and reviewing), as always! -Katrina_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Two car rides, six full backpacks, and one ecstatic Maiyo later, the group stood in a circle in Miaka and Taka's apartment. The new priestess of Suzaku held the book in her hands, while everyone held fast to someone else's arm, concentrating their thoughts on making it into Konan together.

"Well, here goes nothing," Maiyo muttered as she pulled open the ancient cover. At first nothing happened. Maiyo glanced at Miaka, wondering if she had done something wrong. But before she could speak, the pages began to let of a warm red glow, which slowly grew into a red light and encompassed all those standing around it.

"It's good to see you again, Miaka." At the sound of a familiar voice, Miaka's ears perked. Had they made it? She would know any of her warriors anywhere. Miaka sat up and opened her eyes to see Tasuki, Chichiri, Mitsukake, and Chiriko standing in front of her.

"We've been waiting for you, no da," said Chichiri.

Miaka's eyes widened in shock. The last they saw, Chiriko was just a baby, and Chichiri was over thirty. But looking at them now, the age difference was no more than it was when she first met them, maybe even less so.

"Uh... hello," she said hesitantly, not sure quite which was the best way to express her inquiry. "Chiriko?" The boy looked up. "Just wondering Chiriko, did you go through a growth spurt or something?" Chiriko looked down at himself for a moment in slight confusion and then seemed to understand.

"Ah, you're wondering why all of us look the same age?" he asked.

"Well, yeah, sotra."

Chiriko smiled. "This was actually the work of Subaru. Since four of us were reborn but Tasuki and Chichiri were not, the age differences were a bit awkward, as you can imagine. So, Suburu used her powers to restore Chichiri and Tasuki to the way they were ten years ago, and the rest of us ahead about ten years. As you can see, I'm still younger than when you met me the first time, but neither am I an infant."

"And a good thing too," Tasuki muttered under his breath. "The last thing we need is a Suzaku warrior who still needs his pants changed."

"How are Subaru and Tokaki doing, by the way?" Tamahome asked. The smile on Chiriko's face fell.

"I'm sorry, Tamahome, but both of them passed away about a year ago. But they were both very happy and always thinking of you and Miaka."

"I see," said Tamahome. He had to admit, he wasn't prepared for that kind of news, but then again, it did not make him as sorrowful as he would have thought. "Well then, it's good to know they are at peace then," he said quietly. "Just like Tatara."

"Yes," Chiriko agreed. He then turned his attention towards Maiyo. "Now, we must get the priestess in to see the emperor..."

"Mi-aaakaa!" called out another familiar voice. Before Miaka realized quite what was happening, she was caught up in a strong embrace. A very strong embrace.

"Hi Nuriko," she said, struggling for a breath. As she turned her head, she noticed something a little different about her friend than the last time. "Oh yeah, that's right," she muttered. "Nuriko got reborn as a girl."

As the friends all exchanged hellos, Yui held fast onto Tetsuya's hand. These were Miaka's warriors? She had never actually met any of them except for Tamahome up close before. They certainly weren't nearly as serious as the Seiryu.

"Am I missing something?" she asked Tetsuya.

"No... no... not really," Tetsuya responded as Miaka and the purple-haired woman went on gabbing like a couple of middle school girls.

"What's going on out here?" another voice called out. Miaka looked up to see a young man with flowing dark green hair coming out of one of the rooms. His eyes widened when he saw who was standing before him.

"Miaka?" he questioned.

"Hotohori!" Miaka exclaimed. And it was Hotohori, only he looked a bit younger than she last remembered him. His handsome face, however, was still just as beautiful as before.

"Isn't he a cutie?" Nuriko asked.

"Isn't he married?" Miaka countered.

"Petty details."

"So, Miaka, who are your other friends?" Chiriko inquired, trying to be friendly.

"Oh yes," said Miaka. In all her excitement, she had completely forgotten that she left her brother, Yui and Tetsuya standing there. "Well, you all remember Maiyo," she said, decided to introduce the new priestess of Suzaku first.

"Yeah, we remember," muttered Tasuki. "Brat nearly cost us our lives."

"Pay more respect to your priestess," Maiyo retorted.

"I don't take no crap from women," Tasuki muttered. "Cept maybe Miaka, but just 'cause she's the real priestess."

"What did you say?"

"A-hem!" said Miaka, clearly her throat as loudly as possible in an attempt to break the fight up as she moved onto the next person. "This is my big brother Keisuke." Keisuke smiled and gave everyone a peace sign, even though no seemed to know what it meant. "This is his best friend Tetsuya," Miaka went on. "And my friend, Yui."

"You mean, the priestess of Seiryu?" Nuriko pointed out.

"She was, yes," said Miaka. "But we've been best friends since we were little kids. Plus, she's the one that Suzaku contacted to let us know there was trouble."

"Well, you'd be right about that," said Hotohori. "But we can discuss business this evening. Let's just say your arrival here is more than appreciated."

Miaka nodded. She would not quickly forget her duty to this land, even if Maiyo was the new priestess. These were still her friends, and she would protect them and the place where they lived in any way she could.

"Hey, now that you've introduced them, why don't you introduce us?" Tasuki suggested. The others nodded and murmured in agreement.

Great, Yui thought to herself. Miaka pointing people out wasn't going to help her much. She had to at least hear their voices if she was ever going to have a hope of identifying them. Tetsuya hesitated, not sure whether he should say something or not.

"I've got an idea," Chichiri interrupted. "Why don't we introduce ourselves?" The others seemed a bit confused, but nevertheless each of one them went around and said their name, usually adding on some kind of comment about where they lived or something else of that nature. Tasuki asserted that he was the strongest one, but a slap from Nuriko contradicted his point. When introductions were complete, Chichiri volunteered to show everyone to their rooms while Mitsukake brought news to the emperor of their arrival.

"Thank you," Yui whispered when Chichiri took her hand. "I mean, for telling everyone to introduce themselves. I kind of needed it."

"I know," said Chichiri. "Your eyes are bad, aren't they?" Yui felt her face grow warm. She supposed it was probably obvious, she wasn't exactly focusing on anything during the conversation.

"Try useless," she muttered.

"I can relate," Chichiri responded. With that, he took her hand and ran her fingers over the left side of his face. Yui was shocked to discover that where his left eye should have been, instead there was a large scar. "I can see alright from my right eye," Chichiri explained. "But it took a while to get used to."

"What's that you just said?" a voice behind them said. Yui tried to place who it was. Hoto... Ho-something.

"Hotohori," Chichiri said.

"Did you just say, about Miaka's friend? That she can't see?" Hotohori asked. He sounded very desperate, as if this were the worst curse that could possibly fall upon a person. Yui nodded her head, and Hotohori took her hand in his, placing it to his cheek, which was wet with tears.

"To think that someone could not have the ability to gaze upon my beauty," he said sadly. "You poor child." Chichiri fell chibi-sytle backwards. Some things transcended all time and space. One was Miaka and Tamahome's love. The other was Hotohori's narcissism.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Yui sighed as she laid down in her room. So it was back to staying in her room the whole time while everyone else did the work. It was ironic how last time Nakago had to coax her out of bed when she was perfectly healthy and this time she really did want to leave and explore, had she been able. She wondered if she should laugh or sulk about it.

"Hey there, what's up?" Tetsuya's voice called. Yui smiled and sat up. At least now she would have someone to talk to. She listened carefully as his footsteps neared her and stopped as he crouched down next her bed, his shoe squeaking against the floor.

"Something wrong?" he asked her. "You look kinda down in the dumps."

Yui smiled. "Sort of, I guess," she said. "I'm just a little frustrated."

"About what?"

Yui thought the answer to this question was obvious, but then again, Tetsuya might be playing dumb to not make her feel bad. "Well, I'd like to do something besides sit in bed all day, but I can't."

"Why can't you?"

Now the playing dumb act turned from cute to annoyed. "Because I can't see," Yui reminded him.

Tetsuya still seemed unfazed. "Should that make a difference?" he asked.

"It should if I don't want to slam into things," Yui replied. To this, Tetsuya did not answer directly, but Yui heard the rubbing of nylon and the plop of something on the floor. Then a zipper. It sounded just like Tetsuya's school bag. Smelled that way too. The next sound Yui couldn't identify. It sounded like the clicking of metal, but she couldn't figure out for the life of her what it was.

"Thought you might be wanting this," Tetsuya said, holding out Yui's hand and placing an object in it. It was a little less than inch thick, round and made of metal, apparently whatever it was that had been making the sound earlier. When Tetsuya released his grip, she found it to be slightly heavier and longer than she expected, coming down and touching the ground a few feet in front of her with a clear tap.

"Thought I told you to put this away and never take it out again," Yui muttered.

"I didn't listen," Tetsuya responded. To this, Yui leaned down and placed the cane the rest of the way on the floor.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'd rather stay in bed and be bored than be seen using that thing."

"Why?"

"Because it makes me look stupid, that's why."

"So blind people look stupid?"

"No, of course not, I just mean..." Yui was becoming more than a little frustrated at Tetsuya's insistence. How could he possibly understand how she felt? Always lost and needing someone else to guide her around? Yui hated the feeling of sheer helplessness she got every time she was left alone, and she hated even more the fact that everyone else could probably tell.

"You just mean you don't want people feeling sorry for you, am I right?" Tetsuya asked. Yui nodded. As much as she hated to admit it, that about summed things up. She felt Tetsuya's hand on her shoulder, his breath on her skin as he leaned in towards her. "Listen to me, Yui," he said sternly. "I know this whole thing is hard, and I know you're scared. And if people want to think things about you, that's their problem. But lying in bed all day because you say you can't do anything else certainly is going to make seem any less pitiful."

Yui listened as her boyfriend rose to his feet. "Tetsuya?" she asked.

"I'm going to talk with Miaka and Tamahome," he informed her. "If you go out of your room and turn right, we'll be just down the hall. To the left are the rooms for the Suzaku warriors and the kitchen. I'll see you this evening."

"Tetsuya, wait!" Yui objected. He couldn't be thinking of leaving her alone all day. But as Yui suspected when he began talking, Tetsuya's footsteps left the room and then he was gone.

_Tetsuya you jerk_, she thought to herself, pounding her fist down on the bed. _Well, if he thinks he's going to get me up by pulling a stupid trick like that, he's got another thing coming. _Defiantly Yui crossed her arms and turned away from the door. Tetsuya thought he was so smart. She would show him. She wouldn't get up now if he begged her to.

It took about ten minutes of this before Yui realized that her pride was causing her some rather serious boredom. She wondered if it was worth it to stay put all day just to show Tetsuya that she was smarter than he was. _Maybe... maybe I'll go looking around just a bit_, she reasoned. _At least do it quickly before Tetsuya gets back. _Reluctantly, Yui reached down to the bottom of her bed, her fingers finding their way to where the cane was sitting just as she left it. _Hope I don't regret this, _she thought as she reluctantly stood up.

The cane made an annoying tapping sound whenever it hit the floor or anything else in its path. Yui stretched out her arm to its length and felt around. Nothing except the floor. She took another step forward and ran the tip along the path in front of her again. This time she felt something to the right. It was straight and kept going forward. Probably the wall, Yui guessed. She followed her arm and reached her other hand out to affirm her suspicion. _Okay, so I found the wall_, she thought to herself. _Now the doorway would be kind of nice._ Resisting the temptation to use the solid surface as a security hold, Yui started forward again, tapping the cane in front to make sure nothing was in the immediate way, then sliding it around a bit to secure the area around her. Tap-slide. Tap-slide. Again until she encountered something else. Another pretty solid object only unlike the wall, this slid straight up and consisted of a cool metal handle along the way.

"Congratulations, school genius, you found the door," she muttered sarcastically aloud. Her voice sounded short coming back to her, like there was something right in front her bouncing the sound waves back to her ears. She reached her hand out and sure enough, she felt the frame of the door right in front of her face. That would a have been an unpleasant encounter. Moving aside from the frame, she guessed she was now standing in the open door.

"Let's see, to the left is the kitchen and the rooms and the Suzaku warriors... and to right is where Tetsuya said he would be talking with Miaka and Tamahome," Yui recited to herself. Not wanting to see Tetsuya just now, she opted for the left, holding the cane to the side and following the wall with her hand. Probably not the most efficient means for teaching herself to be independent, but at least in the hallway there was no fear of running into a bed or other furniture right in front of you.

As Yui neared the kitchen, a lovely sweet aroma tickled her nostrils. So it seemed like they were preparing dinner already. Coming closer, Yui thought she heard someone humming. It was a slightly familiar voice, but she couldn't quite place who it was.

"Hey there!" the voice called out to her and she stepped in front of the open doorway and undoubtedly into view. "Yui, right?" Was that one of Miaka's warriors? But what was she doing in the kitchen, except perhaps sneaking Miaka a snack?

"H-hello," Yui stuttered, moving closer towards the entrance. Her hand found the doorframe and she stayed still there. "I'm sorry, I don't quite remember your name."

"Nuriko," the person replied. Her footsteps were coming in closer. Was she going to greet her? Yui felt the touch of Nuriko's hands against hers, moving up and down to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you," she said.

"Same," Yui said quietly. "What are you doing here?"

"Working on making dinner," Nuriko replied. "I love cooking. Do you want to help me?"

Well, that was an unexpected invitation. "Sure, but um, aren't you kind of mad at me?" Yui asked hesitantly.

"Why? Did you do something?"

"Well, if I remember correctly, I sent quite a few Seiryu warriors out to kill you and your friends."

Nuriko still seemed unaffected. "I don't concern myself with the past," she said. "We've all made our share of mistakes, and you fell into the hands of a very manipulative guy."

Yui shook her head. "I appreciate your trying to make me feel better, but despite whatever Nakago did, it was still me who decided to turn against my best friend. I don't see why you all of you are so quick to forget that. Well, I actually don't see much of anything nowadays." Yui tried to brighten her dampening mood with the joke, but it didn't really help much. If anything, it made her feel worse.

"Miaka tells me you lost your sight when Suzaku tried to contact you," said Nuriko. "Is that right?"

"Yes," said Yui with a nod. "I mean, I guess that's what it is. I've never had any problems like this before."

"Well then," said Nuriko cheerfully. "I'm sure your sight will come back once we beat whatever it is that's threatening Konan."

"I hope so," Yui said quietly. Nuriko had no idea just how much she wanted that to be true.

"That's the spirit," said Nuriko giving Yui a strong (actually very strong) pat on the back. "In the meantime, come in here and help me with dinner. There's something missing from this soup and I just can't place what it is."

"Okay." Reluctantly, Yui gave up her hold on the doorframe and allowed Nuriko to take her hand, leading her into the kitchen. The inside was much warmer than the outside, and steamy as well. Nuriko released Yui's hand and began stirring something in a metal pot right in front of them. From the scent that poured into her nostrils when she heard Nuriko lift the lid, it seemed like it was the soup she was talking about earlier.

"Here, try this," Nuriko said, suddenly putting a spoon to Yui's lips. The soup was hotter than she would have liked, but Yui nevcertheless took the spoon and gave herself a taste.

"Well?" Nuriko asked hopefully. Yui smacked her lips.

"It's good, but it seems a bit bland," she admitted.

"Yeah, I know," said Nuriko. "It needs something else but I can't tell what."

Thoughtfully, Yui took another sip, finishing the portion Nuriko had given her. Instead of swallowing directly, she let the broth sit on her toungue a moment to absorb the flavor. "Have you tried adding some garlic to it?" she finally suggested.

"Garlic?" Nuriko asked curiously. "No, I didn't think of that."

"This tastes like something similar to what we made in home ec," said Yui. "Only we added garlic to it. I'm sure it would help the flavor."

"Thanks, I'll try it," said Nuriko.

Yui spent most of the rest of the afternoon with Nuriko as they finished preparing the soup along with a host of other culinary goodies. The Suzaku warrior was very anxious to hear all about how Miaka and Taka were doing back in their world, including full elaborate details on the wedding ceremony, as well as Miaka's pregnancy and subsequent delivery. She pictured Taka, she said, as the type to be a bit nervous around babies. Yui had to laugh. Taka had been a bit nervous when his son was first born, but once the child was old enough to hold his head up, Taka would never let him go.

"And what about you?" Nuriko pressed. "Any plans between you and that Tetsuya guy yet?"

Yui felt her face grow warm. "Erm... well, we are very close," she managed to stutter out.  
"But I mean, we haven't planned anything specific as of yet."

"Ah," said Nuriko knowingly. "Well, that will come with time." Yui smiled. The more Nuriko spoke, the more it felt like talking to an older sister she never had.

"Were you really a guy before?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Nuriko said. "Actually, I was quite surprised to be reborn this way. Not soon before my fight with Ashitare, I was beginning to feel myself becoming more and more like the man I pretended so long not to be. I guess it was a lot of Miaka's kindness that helped come to terms with the loss of my sister. Then again..." Here Nuriko paused. "Maybe it was just as well I was reborn a girl. Otherwise I might be giving Taka some competition, huh?" At this Nuriko laughed a bit at her own joke, but Yui didn't respond.

"You were the warrior that Ashitare killed," she said quietly. "It was me that told Nakago the Suzaku knew where the shinzaho was. You would've lived if it wasn't for me."

"I told you, past is past. Don't concern yourself with it. I don't even blame Nakago for what happened. The point is, we're here now so we should make the most of it."

Yui was about to reply, but a certain scent threw off her train of thought.

"Is the soup starting to burn?" she asked.

"Eeek!" Nuriko replied and ran over to cool the pot down. Yui waited anxiously to hear the status and was quite relieve when Nuriko finally said, "Looks like we saved it just in time."

That evening at dinner, Yui sat alongside Tetsuya as the maids brought out the food she and Nuriko had helped prepare.

"Dig in, everyone!" called Miaka, breaking her chopsticks. With that, the feasting began. Yui began eating the soup first; it had actually come out very well, if she didn't say so herself. She also sampled the meat buns and a few other things she had helped with. Authentic Chinese cuisine did have quite an edge on fast food stands, she had to admit.

"Hey, this is pretty good," Taka pointed out. "You did a nice job, Nuriko."

"Well, I did have some help," said Nuriko.

"Oh really?" Tetsuya asked and by the tone of his voice, Yui guessed that Nuriko had somehow been pointing to her. "Thought you said you weren't getting up, Yui."

"That's none of your business," she replied coolly and went back to eating her soup.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It was night, and slowly, Yui began to drift off to sleep once again. But no sooner had she gone into slumber, she felt herself being pulled into another dreamlike state. At least, that's what she guessed it was. The odd thing about this dream was that, she still couldn't see anything. On one hand, it was a logical assumption, but on the other she had perfectly good sight for her first eighteen years and had only been without it for two days now. And since dreams were constructed in the mind, one would think that her dreams would still contain images. But this one, for one reason or another, did not.

Yui knelt down on the ground. A swirling mist surrounded her feet just as before, adding a bit of tension to the predicament. Suddenly, a voice called out to her:

"Priestess of Seiryu!"

Yui stood up. "Suzaku?" she questioned. She wasn't sure how she knew that, but something told her that if Suzaku ever spoke, this was what it sounded like. And yet it was vaguely familiar; a warm and comfortable feeling caressed her as the phoenix drew close.

"You delivered my first message," Suzaku said. "But now you must deliver another."

"Message?" Yui questioned.

"Surely you didn't forget your first dream already?" Suzaku questioned. Yui shook her head. She had certainly not forgotten that. "The enemy is powerful," Suzaku continued. "So this is the only way I am able to communicate with you."

"What enemy?" Yui demanded, more than a little irritated.

"Tenkou," Suzaku replied solemnly.

"Tenkou?" Yui gasped. "But that can't be... he was killed, wasn't he?"

"He was sealed," Suzaku corrected. "And now someone has released him."

"Who?"

"I think it's best you not know that now."

"Don't give me that!" said Yui, stamping her foot. "Whoever it is, it's their fault all this is happening, isn't it? Why can't I know?"

"My time is limited," said Suzaku, surprisingly calm considering his addressee's outburst. "And there is more information I must give you. Tenkou is much powerful than before. To defeat him, you must..."

At that point, Yui heard a rumbling in the background, like an approaching earthquake. She braced herself, but nothing came. Only Suzaku's presence seemed to have suddenly disappeared; the warmth turned to ice. Yui began to call out, but as she spoke, her throat began to burn. It was bearable at first, but quickly flared into excruciating torture, as if something was tearing at her flesh from the inside. Yui grasped her hands around her throat and sat up, abruptly ending the dream.

_Bang_! Yui's head collided with the bedpost as she woke up, back in her room in Konan once again. Though her noggin was a bit sore, she found the pain in her throat was gone. Gingerly, she rubbed her neck. No soreness, no evidence of injury at all. Just yet another very strange dream involving Suzaku. And she wasn't about to take this one lightly.

As Yui turned and let her legs over the side of the bed, she felt another person there. Someone kneeling at her bedside, apparently haven't not left that position all night. Yui smiled and shook her head.

_Tetsuya. He'll give himself a major muscle cramp if he keeps that up_, she thought to herself. She reached out and rubbed his shoulders, where his glasses had slipped off during the night.

"Wake up, sleepy head," Yui said. Or at least, that's what she tried to say. But as she opened her mouth to speak the words, she found that no sound was coming out.

_What is this?_ Terror struck Yui's mind as her hands gripped her throat once again. She tried to speak but again, nothing happened. Her vocal chords were completely still.

Panicked, Yui reached over and roughly shook Tetsuya awake. Not easy; the guy slept like a log. But finally she managed to push him hard enough that he fell out of his sleeping position and onto his back, which had to wake just about anybody up.

"Huh? Wha...?" he questioned sleepily. He looked over at Yui to her waving her hand somewhat frantically.

"Good morning, Yui," he said, yawning. "What's the matter? Do you need something?"

Yui tapped her throat, but Tetsuya only seemed more confused. "You're thirsty?" he questioned. Yui shook her head.

"Hungry?" She shook her head again. Tetsuya rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"You want to sing karaoke?" At this, Yui threw her arms up and shoved her face into a pillow. So much for couples sharing an unspoken understanding.

"I'm sorry, I'm not good at charades in the morning," said Tetsuya, smiling and rubbing the back of his neck. "Can't you just tell me what you want?"

Yui sat back up and shook her head.

"Can't tell me?" Tetsuya questioned. "Why not?" Again, Yui indicated her throat, and hoped her somewhat clueless boyfriend would catch on.

"Your throat hurts?" Tetsuya questioned.

_Getting warmer,_ Yui thought to herself. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. Maybe she couldn't say what she meant, but she could still write it. She reached out for Tetsuya's hand, and finding it, traced the words, "No voice" into his palm with her fingers. Then thinking perhaps she should clarify a bit more, she also wrote "Suzaku."

"You had another dream with Suzaku?" Tetsuya asked. "And now you can't speak?"

_Bingo,_ Yui thought, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Wait right here," he said. "I'll go and get the others."

Upon receiving the news from Tetsuya, Yui's room quickly filled up with concerned friends.

"Are you in any pain?" Miaka asked, holding her hands together. Yui shook her head, and a host of other questions fired at her.

"Did you have another vision?"

"What was it?"

"Did you talk to Suzaku?"

"Did he say who our enemy is?"

Yui felt like slapping herself in the forehead. For a group of warriors who supposedly were to be defending this world, they forgot basic facts fairly quickly. Tetsuya sympathetically reached over and touched Yui's shoulder.

"Listen, instead of asking a million questions, why don't we just let Yui tell Miaka what happened?" he asked. He motioned for Miaka to come over; Yui could her hear her footsteps approaching and stopping at the bed. Tetsuya then placed her hand in Miaka's palm and Yui began to retell everything in her dream, one character at a time.

"Suzaku was there," Miaka began. "He sounded weak, I could feel his life force was not as strong as before. There isn't much time left. He told me the enemy was... was..." For some reason, Miaka could not get the last word out. The other warriors crowded around her closer, wondering what was so terrible she could not say it aloud.

"A pancake?" Miaka questioned. "Yui, are you sure you heard right?" Yui fell backwards. Leave it to Miaka to misunderstand kanji. How did this girl passed high school was beyond her. Regaining herself, she ran her finger back over Miaka's palm to indicate she should forget the last word and re-wrote what she meant to say in hiragana instead.

"Tenkou?" Miaka gasped.

"But, Tenkou was sealed away, wasn't he?" Tasuki objected. Miaka shook her head as she stood up.

"Apparently, not sealed enough." She placed her hand on Yui's once more. "Did you find out anything else?" she asked. Yui shook her head, and Miaka patted her shoulder.

"Thanks Yui," she said. "This'll help a lot."

_Author's Notes: Kanji are Chinese characters used to represent entire words. Hiragana is a simpler form of writing in which each character is a sylable. Young children learn hiragana first, whereas high school students are expected to know a certain number of kanji. I don't beleive there is a kanji for "pancake," but for humor's sake, please bear with the artistic liberties._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"So, what do we do now?" Miaka asked as her celestial warriors gathered around her. The best place to have a meeting she reasoned, was over breakfast. Food seemed to calm her nerves a bit.

"You tell us, you're the one that said Yui's information would help."

Miaka kicked the ground. It wasn't that she didn't believe what she said. She just wasn't sure how it could help. "Well, it did, didn't it? I mean, you can sense Tenkou's life force, can't you?" She looked over each of them, but her eyes fell to Chichiri in the end. If anyone could detect their enemy's chi, surely he could.

"It's not that easy, no da," said Chichiri, shaking his head. "Tenkou is a powerful enemy. If he doesn't want to give himself away yet, there's not much I can do. The best we can hope for is to put up a barrier around the palace. That way, if he attacks, we'll have a chance to defend ourselves."

"This isn't about defending ourselves!" Nuriko interceded, slamming her hand down on the table and giving it a nice crack. "This is about saving Konan, and this world. We can't just hide here."

"If you've got another suggestion, please share it, no da," said Chichiri solemnly. "Tenkou very near defeated us last time. And unless Yui gets some other type of information that tells us what his weakness is, there's nothing else we can do, except wait and conserve our energy."

"Hey, what's going on?" Tetsuya's voice called, entering the room. Yui was holding onto his arm, dressed in her school uniform. She looked content, Miaka was happy to see, as her boyfriend pulled a chair out for her. "Did we find anything out?" he asked anxiously.

"Nah, someone thinks we should play cat and mouse for a while," Tasuki muttered.

"I'm just suggesting we be cautious," Chichiri clarified.

Suddenly Yui straightened up, turning her head as if looking... or listening for something.

"What's wrong?" Miaka asked, holding her hand out so Yui could answer her. The girl anxiously took it.

_Heard something_, Yui wrote. _Screaming._

"Screaming?" Miaka questioned. At this, everyone at the table was silent, and began listening. But they heard nothing.

"Where was it coming from?" Miaka asked. Yui pointed.

"East," Hotohori observed. At that moment, the scream was heard again, this time loud enough so that everyone heard it. Nuriko reacted first, jumping up from the table and leaping over the marble railing to land perfectly on the ground. The other Suzaku warriors got up as well.

"Hey, wait for me!" Miaka cried after them. Yui stood up and tugged a bit on Tetsuya's arm.

"Alright, alright, we'll find them," he said. "Sheesh, you two are impatient!"

Tetsuya, Miaka, and Yui, quickly caught up to the group, who needed to stop and listen again for where the sound was coming from. Another screaming and Yui pointed again. The screaming led the group to a opening of trees just outside the forest.

As they neared the clearing, a series of low screeching sounds could also be heard from the area. Coming into view, Miaka gasped see a whole flock of black bats, not unlike the ones that had attacked her back sometime ago, surrounding a person, who was cowered over, trying to deal with the pain of the multiple biting wounds and apparently unable to fight back.

"I'll deal with this," said Tasuki, reaching for his harisen. "Rekka Shinnen!" In a blast of flame, the bats' bodies all ignited and fell the ground as nothing more than a screeching pile of ash. Their victim, however, was safe. Tasuki smiled at his marvelous aim. He'd certainly gained some considerable skills with his weapon over the past several years. But now there were more important things at hand. Quickly the ground surrounded the fallen victim, who turned out to be a small boy. He was still conscious when they went over to him, breathing heavily, strands of dark brown hair sticking to his forehead with sweat.

"Th-thank you," he stuttered out.

"Don't talk now," said Hotohori. "Let us tend to your wounds first."

"So, you're from Kutou then?" Hotohori asked when the boy had recovered enough strength to speak.

"Yes," he replied. "My name is Shido. I was sent as a messenger. Kutou is in danger and requests to aid of Konan."

"What?" Hotohori gasped. The idea of Kutou and Konan ever forming any kind of reliance was absurd enough. But if either country were to request help, Konan was one third the size of its eastern neighbor. What did they possibly have to offer?

"The whole country is collapsing," the boy went on. "A few weeks ago, a darkness began to spread over everything. Buildings are crumbling, people are taking ill for no reason, it's a mess. Everyone says it's because we attacked Konan without provocation years ago. They want to seek refuge here."

Hotohori took the boy's story in, but sadly shook his head. "If things are as bad as you say they are, unfortunately, Konan is not nearly big enough to provide refuge for all the people of Kutou. We are, however, working to find what this darkness is, so we can battle it."

"Do you know...?" Shido began.

"I don't think it has anything to do with Kutou's attack on Konan," Chichiri reassured the boy, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Whatever this darkness is, it will not stop with your country."

Hotohori nodded, even though it was questionable whether or not Chichiri's statement, however true it might have been, was helping or hindering the situation at hand. Shido, however, seemed a bit better, at least less shaken up. His eyes scanned the group in front of him, pondering over each person slowly.

"A-are you... I'm sorry, but are you the priestess of Seiryu?" he finally asked of Yui. Yui reluctantly nodded.

"I heard a lot about you," Shido said. "Is it true that you and the priestess of Suzaku are friends now?"

Yui nodded again, hoping someone else would pick up the conversation from there.

"We've been friends for a long time," Miaka continued on. Always leave it to her. "But I think our friendship became much stronger after we returned to our world again." Well, that was sugar-coating it, Yui thought. The friendship was stronger, in a sense, but Miaka completely neglected to mention that it wouldn't have fallen apart in the first place had it not been for Yui's own sheer stubbornness and vicious desire to seek vengeance on Miaka for something that wasn't even her fault. But Shido seemed satisfied enough with Miaka's reply; at least he did not press the matter further. At Hotohori's suggestion, the young boy spent the night in the palace to regain his strength before heading back to his homeland.


	9. Chapter 9

**Fading Senses by Katrina Kadabra - Chapter 9**

The next day the Suzaku warriors began training Maiyo for her position as the new priestess. Although they did not know what kind of obstacles lay ahead of them, Chichiri explained, it was important that Maiyo become familiar with the life force of her warriors, as they with hers. A particularly hard challenge was for both Miaka and Maiyo to hide and to call out to the warriors using their chi as they could. The target was Maiyo, but Miaka was usually the first one found. 

"I know I got it this time!" Tasuki called triumphantly, pulling away some leaves. 

"Wrong again," Miaka muttered from her hiding spot. She stood up to dust the branches off her skirt. A couple piece still slung to her hair. "Tasuki, you've got to get a better grasp on this! You're looking for Maiyo, not me!" 

"Well, this isn't exactly my area of expertise in the first place," Tasuki reported. "Outta all of us, Tamahome and Chichiri are the ones with the knack for that." 

"It still wouldn't hurt to try," Miaka replied. The fire warrior tried. Maybe he could give it just one more try. If nothing else, it was a chance to show Tamahome up. 

"A-ha! I knew I'd find you here!" a voice called out. Miaka and Tasuki looked up to see Tamahome standing in the clearing. 

"Oh," he said disappointedly. "Not Maiyo, huh?" 

"Not Maiyo," Tasuki informed him. 

Meanwhile, Chichiri and Mitsukake were practicing their powers. At one point, Mitsukake remembered, he was able to use his power offensively as well as defensively, in the form of an attack against a sickness demon. Perhaps it would work on Tenkou and perhaps it wouldn't, but at least it was worth a try. For himself, Chichiri wanted to be able to perform teleportations more quickly and efficiently. So Yui, Keisuke, and Tetsuya were left with the role of being the guinea pigs. 

"Enemy to the right!" Keisuke called out. Chichiri grabbed hold of them and teleported to the right. 

"Now to the front!" Keisuke yelled. Immediately he changed their position back several feet. 

"Fish on the ceiling!" Tetsuya yelled out. Chichiri was ready to grab them again on instinct until he stopped short and contemplated Tetsuya's words. 

"That can't happen, no da!" he yelled. Tetsuya laughed and was teleported into a bush. No one could argue he didn't deserve it. When he suddenly vanished, Yui reached her hands out to try and find him, but the muffled yells and cracking of braches told her it would be a while. Inside, she couldn't resist giggled to herself as well. 

"He'll be out in a minute," said Keisuke, taking Yui's hand. "You want some help?" 

Yui shook her head. "I'm okay," she wrote in reply. Suddenly her ears picked up another person coming towards them. from the right. She turned her head towards the sound. Did anyone else hear that? The soft muffled footsteps against the blades of grass... 

"Keisuke!" Maiyo's voice suddenly yelled, suddenly pouncing on him from behind. Yui about had a heart attack. If that was supposed to be funny, she had a few choice words for the new priestess of Suzaku. Apparently Keisuke felt mutually. 

"Geez, Maiyo, what's the big deal sneaking up on us?" he snapped. 

"I'm sorry," she said innocently. "This is just so tiring. I wanted to see what you guys were up to." 

"Helping train. Like you're supposed to be doing," Keisuke reminded her. 

"Give me a break. I've been working all day. Hey, Yui, wannna help me with the answers for my English homework?" 

Yui sighed and held out her hand for Maiyo to take. The girl did so and she wrote into her hand, "You're not taking your role as priestess very seriously." 

"I am so," Maiyo retorted. 

Yui shook her head. "I hoped that after last time you'd get an idea about how dangerous this place was." 

"So does this mean you won't help me with English?" 

"Bingo," Yui replied with her smoothest English lettering. There was a lot more she wanted to say, but arguing with someone like Maiyo through hand-writing was a long and tedious task that little chance for success anyway. She had a hard time believing that even reading what happened the first time in the book then entering it herself, would not cause Maiyo take things a little more seriously. 

"You!" Tasuki's voice suddenly yelled out. Everyone looked up to see a very irritated fire warrior pointing straight at Maiyo, with Hotohori calmly walking behind him. "We're looking all over the forest for you, and you came back here?" 

Maiyo sweatdropped. Having completely forgot that she was still supposed to be hiding was not something it appeared to be a good idea to tell Tasuki right now. Maiyo suddenly found a keen interest in staring down at the floor. "Opps," she muttered. 

"I swear, when I say I hate women, there's a good reason for it!" Tasuki yelled, turning his back as the crowd began giggling at the scene. 

"In any case, these culminating visions of Yui's seem to indicate that Tenkou will be picking a fight with us soon, no da," Chichiri pointed out. "It would be in our best interests to prepare ourselves." 

Hotohori shook his head. "It's a shame the Seiryu warriors have not been reborn yet. We certainly could use their aid." 

"What!" Tasuki exploded. "You want th' enemy to help us?" 

"Right now our common enemy is Tenkou," said Hotohori gravely. "And the Seiryu have always been stronger than us." 

"Says who? We beat them didn't we? Heck, I nailed one of them even without my powers." 

"Soi jumped in front of your sword," Nuriko pointed out. "That's hardly an assessment of your strength." 

Hotohori shook his head. "It wasn't a comment meant to stir up this conversation," he said quietly. "It was just a passing thought. Let it go." He glanced around at his audience, noting that the happy atmosphere had gotten unusually quiet. The same thought was on everyone's mind - how did they prepare for a battle it seemed they had little chance to win? 

"Hey, are you alright?" Tetsuya suddenly asked Yui, noting that his girlfriend was taking to rubbing her eyes. "Do your eyes hurt?" 

"No," Yui wrote in reply. "Just tired." 

"Maybe you should get some rest, no da," Chichiri suggested. "You've had a rough time, after all." Yui sighed. Being tired and having a rough time, as Chichiri called it, were two different things. If he wanted her to rest out of sympathy for her condition, she would stay awake on purpose. Then again, Chichiri had been kind ot her up to this pint, so she assumed it was not a pity comment. Besides, being as suddenly tired as she was, she wasn't sure she could stay awake even if she wanted to. 

"I'm having a rough time too," Maiyo began to whine. No one was listening. 

Testuya led Yui back to her room. As they walked, she tried to count the steps between the patio where they were sitting and her room. She started losing count at twenty. After they got in the room, Yui fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. 

"I'm so lazy," she thought to herself just before slipping off. "I'm getting to be like Miaka, falling asleep on a pin like this..." 

"Preistess of Seiryu!" A voice was calling. A familiar voice, from somewhere far away. It was the last thing Yui heard before she drifted off to sleep.   



	10. Chapter 10

**Fading Senses by Katrina Kadabra - Chapter 10**

"Prestiess of Seiryu!" Yui sat up abruptly, only to be surrounding by the same swirling clouds she'd seen twice before. At the sight of them, Yui's heart filled with fear. Another dream. Every other time, it had brought nothing but trouble for her. And this time would probably prove to be no different. 

"Go away!" Yui ordered the creature that had called her to this place. Suddenly, to her shock, she realized she had actually heard her own words. Was she speaking again? Yui felt her throat. Her vocal chords were still, yet her voice had echoed around her as if she was speaking through a megaphone. 

"You'll have to forgive me," a deep voice said. "But since Tenkou's curse is blocking your ability to speak, my only way to communicate with you was to have your thoughts vocalized within this dream world." __

Suzaku, Yui noted, recognizing the tone of it by now. As the word glazed across her thoughts, again her voice echoed through the nothingness the word: "Suzaku." 

"Yes," the voice assured her. "Now be still, my time is limited. Tenkou is immensely powerful. As they are now, nothing the Suzaku warriors have stands a chance against him. There is a way to defeat Tenkou, but it requires the aid of Seiryu." 

"Why the Seiryu?" Yui thought, forgetting once again that all her thoughts were coming out as words. 

"Because the dragon is the one who released Tenkou in the first place. But as part of this bargain, he cannot kill the Seiryu or their priestess. That is why I have been sending my messages through you. And it is also why Tenkou has been using a number of spells to try and keep you from communicating rather than killing you, even though that would be a simple task." 

Off in the distance, Yui could hear something like a screeching sound in the background, growing ever closer. Violently she shook her head. "Leave me alone!" she begged the phoenix in her mind. "I don't want to be your messenger anymore!" 

At that moment, the screeching became unbearably loud, forcing Yui down to her knees, trying to shield her ears from the sound. 

Again, Yui sat abruptly, and again, she found herself in her bed. Only now she had guessed from experience what the outcome of the dream was. As much as Yui listened, she could hear nothing in the room, either the wind blowing, or the crickets chirping. All was dead silence. So if Tenkou couldn't stop her from giving Suzaku's messages, apparently he was going to try and stop her from receiving them. 

Yui reached out her hand and felt the side of the bed. Empty. Tetsuya was not there. And for as much as Yui had tried to control herself this whole time, her emotions finally gave way. Throwing her face in her hands, she began to weep bitterly, even though the only thing that came out was silence. 

Tetsuya finally came in later that morning, whistling happily and carrying a tray of food. He'd been up since dawn working on it - his attempt at making waffles using an ancient Chinese kitchen. It didn't turn out so bad, if he said so himself. Add some fruit on the side - Yui always liked that. 

"Yui, it's me!" he announced, turning open the door. She'd probably be up already, waiting for him. But as he entered the room, he saw she was still in bed, her face to the wall, clutching her body and shivering. 

"Yui?" he asked, setting the tray of food down. "Yui, what's wrong? Don't you feel well?" She didn't answer. She didn't even move. Tetsuya hurried over to her side and as his footsteps neared her bed, she suddenly turned around to his direction. 

"What's wrong?" he repeated. Her eyes were red, as if she'd been crying. Had she been sleeping and he woke her up? Perhaps this whole thing was becoming overwhelming. Anxiously, Yui reached her hand out, and Tetsuya knelt down next to her, presenting his palm. 

"Tetsuya?" she wrote with a question mark. Now he was confused. 

"Yes, it's me," he said hesitantly. "I called out to you, were you asleep?" Before he quite finished his sentence, Yui was writing something else. 

"Please write. Can't hear." At this, she held out her hand towards him. Tetsuya's body began to shake as reality started setting in for him. 

"You can't... no, no, not again. It can't have happened again!" Yui thrust her palm forward again. He was speaking, and she sensed it, though she didn't know how. The room was silent as ever to her, but she could feel Tetsuya's anger and frustration; it mirrored her own. __

Please talk to me, she silently begged. _Don't leave me sitting here alone._

As if reading her thoughts, Tetsuya finally managed to compose himself enough to take her hand and begin talking to her. 

"Sorry," he wrote. "Got upset." 

Yui tried a smile. "I know." 

"Does it hurt?" 

"No, just quiet," she replied. Then, after a hesitation, continued, "I'm scared." 

"I know," he answered, a drop falling onto her wrist. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Another drop fell. He was crying. Yui released his hand and reached up, feeling for his face. She found it as if she could see it right in front of her, pulling his damp cheeks in towards her and kissing them away. 

"I love you," she traced on his wet skin with her pinky. At this, he reached his arms around her. But instead of writing her a reply, he drew his lips up to her cheeck. 

"I love you too." His words upon her skin. She would know it if he said it from far away. Now Yui found herself crying in his arms as well. 

After gathering themselves, Yui and Tetsuya most reluctantly called everyone else in to tell them what had happened. 

Miaka held her hands nervously. "I hope we'll have enough information to defeat Tenkou very soon." 

"Miaka!" Tetsuya snapped. Up until now he had been keeping his composure, but now that was questionable. "You can't possibly be asking her to keep receiving these messages from Suzaku." 

"But it's our only chance to stop Tenkou!" Miaka argued. "If we can just hold out a bit longer..." 

"Talk for yourself," said Tetsuya angrily. "What happens to Yui if the spell doesn't break?" 

Almost as if sensing his words, Yui lifted her hand. Immediately, Tetsuya knelt by her side. But to his surprise, she wrote Miaka's name in his palm. Tetsuya scowled. 

"She wants you," he said, glancing at Miaka. Hesitantly, Miaka walked up and took her friend's hand. Her usual carefree feel was all but gone. 

"Please... tell Suzaku not to contact me again," Yui wrote. 

"But..." Miaka began to protest, until she remembered and began writing her reply on Yui's hand instead. "But you're the only reason we know anything about our enemy," Miaka replied. "Please reconsider." 

Yui smiled, but it was a painful smile. "Miaka, look at me. Blind, mute, and now deaf. I can't say I don't deserve these things. The fact that I'm still alive is more than I think I deserve." Miaka started to retract her hand in protest, but Yui held it firm. "I caused you and your friends so much pain. And I was never punished for it. This is my punishment, and I accept it. But..." here Yui hesitated a moment. "But the thought of losing anything else, my ability to feel Tetsuya's touch on my skin, I don't think I could deal with that." 

"We'll get you back to normal," Miaka wrote, finally getting to chance to reply. "Once Tenkou is defeated..." 

"Do you know that?" To this, Miaka did not reply, so Yui went on, "You're always so hopeful, Miaka. That's what I like about you. But I have to think of the possibility that things will stay as they are now. I think... I can still finish school. I want to try, anyway." 

"It's not your fault!" Miaka yelled aloud as she wrote her reply. "Yui, it's not your fault! You're not being punished! Please don't talk like that." 

"Promise me you won't let Suzaku contact me again," Yui wrote. Miaka hesitated, so she re-traced the first words. "Promise me." 

Reluctantly, Miaka lifted her hand. "I promise," she wrote slowly into Yui's palm.   



	11. Chapter 11

**Fading Senses by Katrina Kadabra - Chapter 11**

Tears were pulsing down Miaka's face as she left the room. 

"I can't believe she's blaming herself for all this," she said. Then, apparently decided that it was the palace wall that was the source of everyone's suffering, she turned and gave the nearest corner several good hard kicks. "It's. Not. Her. Fault," she said, annunciating each word with each blow. "It's. Stupid. Tenkou's!" 

"Miaka, calm down," said Tamahome, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You're not going to do anyone any good with a broken toe." 

It was good advice, for as Miaka retracted her leg, she could feel a jabbing pain in her foot. Not broken, but not exactly feeling top condition either. 

"Ow," she muttered. As Miaka nursed her sore foot, the clouds outside began to grow increasingly ominous. A bolt of unnatural lightning struck dangerously close to the center of the city. Chichiri reacted immediatly as his head jerked upward. 

"Tenkou's here," he whispered. Maiyo's eyes widened. 

"Are you sure?" she asked, backing behind Tamahome. "It could just be really bad weather, or..." 

"Where are you, Suzaku warriors?" a taunting voice rang out, as if to answer her question. "You're not going to let me destroy your city without a fight, are you?" Hotohori shook his head angrilly. Challenging them was one thing, but this mocking was all a game to him. Toying with lives as if they were there for his amusement. In some ways, his attitude somewhat reminded him of Nakago. (Except that Nakago that probably more sympathetic.) 

"Let's go," he said quietly. "It's time." 

Meanwhile, inside the room, Tetsuya was still at Yui's bedside. It wasn't fair, he told himself. Tamahome could protect Miaka. That Suzaku power of his got them both out of troublesome situations again and again. Why couldn't he protect her? 

"Maybe you would've been better off," he said quietly. "Falling in love with one of your warriors." 

She didn't reply, of course. Though her eyes were closed, Tetsuya couldn't quite tell if she was awake and just resting or asleep. If she was asleep, he wanted to grab her and force her up just so Suzaku couldn't try anything again. He'd had quite of that phoenix for now. Strangely, however, as he sat watching the dancing shadows on her face, suddenly his own eyes became heavy. 

"Dummy, don't fall asleep yourself," he quietly scolded himself. Apparently he didn't listen very well. As much as he tried to force himself to stay awake, Tetsuya's body began slipping forward, resting itself on the soft bedsheets and drifting off into a dream. 

The next time Tetsuya opened his eyes, he found himself in a dreamlike setting with swirling blue clouds cascading against the surrounding darkess. This place, he thought to himself. It couldn't be... 

"Tetsuya!" Someone called out to him and immediately the young man turned his head towards the sound. A figure was approaching him. From the description of Yui's dreams, he half-expected it to be Suzaku. But instead this figure was clothes in silver and blue armor, his long green nails accented by ocean-colored scales along his hands. 

"Seiryu," Tetsuya muttered. The figure nodded. Of course it was Seiryu, the dragon who had called Yui in here in teh first place. Had it not been for him, she and Miaka would never had been enemies, not to mention the trauma Yui had encountered within the book's pages. Seeing the dragon that initiated it all face-to-face, Tetsuya was livid. "You're monster that's causing her so much pain," he spat. Seiryu seemed unaffected. 

"Strong words. Why so much anger towards me, Tetsuya? Or is it simply that the girl you love shared her body with me long before she came near you?" 

At this, Tetsuya finally lost his temper. Stupid as it was, he ran forward to give Seiryu a good punch in the nose. And of course, missed completely. That's what happens when you attack a powerful being who can teleport at will, he reminded himself. 

"Are you going to continue dancing around or do you actually want to help the priestess?" Seiryu asked impatiently. Now he had Tetsuya's undivided attention. 

"Help her? But how?" he asked. Seiryu lowered his head. 

"It seems I underestimated Tenkou," he began. "I wanted desperately to see revenge on Suzaku for humiliating me as he did. So I enlisted some assistance, if you will." 

Tetsuya's eyes widened. "You broke Tenkou's seal?" he exclaimed. 

"Not without certain conditions. First of all, the war was to be confined to Suzaku's territory. And, more importantly, under no conditions could he bring any bodily harm to my priestess or her warriors." 

"Well, it looks like he's broken that part of the deal already," said Tetsuya. Again the dragon annoyingly shook his head. 

"No, he has not. Yui has a spell on her, but she is not hurt. That's the only reason Tenkou is still around. If he were to break his part of the bargain, the magic I used to break his seal would turn back on him and kill him. I cannot break the spell on my priestess, but I can transfer it to someone else." Yellow serpentine eyes stared down at Tetsuya. 

"You're referring to me, I suppose?" 

"If Tenkou is destroyed, his spells are no longer in effect. And how can he win against warriors he cannot injure?" 

"But the Seiryu warriors aren't here," Tetsuya objected. 

"The warriors will gather to their priestess," Seiryu explained. "All Yui has to do is summon them and they will be at her side. But first she must be in a proper condition to fight." 

Tetsuya looked at the ground. He didn't even need to think about this. If there was a chance, even a small one, that Yui could recover, he would take it. Her warriors were always there to protect her when he could do nothing. Now it was his turn to help her. "I'll do it," Tetsuya said. 

Yui's head bolted up. She thought at first she was having another dream, but as she strained, she couldn't seem to remember it. Rather, it was almost as if she had been watching someone else's dream. But that wasn't the immediate problem. In his watching over her, Tetsuya had mistaken her chest for a pillow. Even if he was her boyfriend now, it was still embarrassing. 

"Will you get off?" she asked. Yui gasped and clamped her hands over her mouth. The voice. Was it hers? It had been so long since her vocal chords had uttered a sound, that she wasn't quite sure. "Tetsuya…" she whispered the name onto her hands and heard it come back to her. She could speak again. Then did that mean…? 

Almost afraid, Yui slowly opened her eyes. Sunlight immediately flooded into them; she had to squint to get used to it. Looking around, she saw she was in the room where everyone had left her crying only a short time ago. And now she felt like crying again. 

"I… I can see," she whispered, touching her hands to her eyes and speaking aloud just to hear her own voice. "Suzaku if this is another cruel dream, I swear I'm going to wring your neck," she muttered. Suddenly, she turned her attention to the guy who was still fast asleep on her bed. Tetsuya would be so thrilled. Her heart raced as she jostled his shoulder, trying to rouse him. 

"Tetsuya, can you hear me?" she asked excitedly. "Tenkou's spell is broken. I can talk again! Look at me, Tetsuya!" Finally, the young man's form moved slowly towards her. Smiling, he reached up his hands and stroked her cheeks. Yui did not like the look in his eyes. He wasn't making direct eyes contact with her. If anything he was looking right past her. 

"Tetsuya," she said nervously. "Tetsuya, say something to me." 

He didn't say anything. Instead he ran his hand along her arm until he reached her hand. Taking it, he began to trace a word, just as she had done earlier. 

"You've got your senses back?" 

On instinct, Yui wrote her reply. "Yes. But you?" 

"Go find Miaka and the others. They can't beat Tenkou without you." 

Tears began to fall down Yui's face, clouding the vision she was so happy to have again. Parts of the dream began coming back to her. Tetsuya and Seiryu were talking to each other. She couldn't tell about what, but she had sensed it had to do with her. Now she knew all too well. The spell wasn't broken, only transferred to another victim. "Tetsuya, what did you do?" she whispered. Grasping his hand, she yelled at him, "Tetsuya, you idiot, what did you do!" 

"Suzaku's last message," Tetsuya wrote. "The Seiryu warriors are invulnerable to Tenkou's attacks. If he hurts them, he will destroy himself. The preistess can call the warriors to her. That's why… someone needed to take the spell from you." 

"You're still an idiot," Yui muttered, but decided not to write it. Instead, she kissed Tetsuya on the cheek. "I'll be back," she whispered onto his skin. Tetsuya smiled and released her hand. Quickly Yui stood up. She didn't know why, but she had the sense that Tenkou would not fight the Suzaku warriors outside Konan, probably as close to the palace as he could get. They couldn't be far. 

"I will break this spell," Yui vowed. "Even if I have to kill Tenkou with my bare hands."   



	12. Chapter 12

**Fading Senses - Chapter 12 by Katrina Forest**

Quickly upon his arrival, Tenkou had turned the Konan palace into a complete war zone. Huge sections of the building were ripped apart, metal warped around itself, opening up a small cove where the Suzaku warriors and their two priestess stood in a circle. At the moment, even their best attempts to defend themselves against the storm of hatred surrounding them seemed to be a gentle breeze in comparison. A swirl of cold winds attacked the steadfast warriors, but they held firm. Tasuki tried a blast of his fan, but the blazing winds easily manipulated it away from his target.

"No good!" Chichiri called. "At this rate, it's using all our energy just to stay standing!"

"Ya got a better idea!" Tasuki snapped back at him. Meanwhile, Nuriko was still her best to shield Maiyo and Miaka. Maiyo shuddered at the fierce conditions. She had to admit, this is not what she had in mind when she originally wanted to enter the book. She had thought the warriors were supposed to protect her. But instead she needed to protect them. And she was failing miserably.

"If Suzaku's so dang strong, why doesn't it come to help us?" she shrieked as her tears were blown into the wind.

"Suzaku's given us all the power he can!" Miaka called back. "It's up to us to use it!" To this, Maiyo did not respond, or if she did, Miaka was unable to hear her. The terribly howling and thunder of Tenkou's power was not exactly conducive to a conversation. But even as Miaka sat watching her warriors' desperate fight, something warm inside her held to home. Even the nature around them, the trees and the clouds, seemed to encourage them, as if they knew their existence hung in the balance too.

"Don't give up!" she thought she almost heard the wind saying. "I'm coming."

Miaka squinted. It wasn't just her overly optimistic imagination. A figure was walking through the clouds. One she thought she recognized, but then her logic scolded her. It looked remarkably similar to Yui. Only her best friend was still ill back at the palace. Wasn't she?

"Miaka!" a voice called out to her. It was unmistakable this time.

"Yui!" Miaka called back. At last the figure emerged into visible range, revealing herself as the Seiryu priestess, dressed in her traditional garb.

"What?" Tenkou gasped. "It can't be! You were..."

"Healthy and well, thank you for your concern," Yui snapped. "I understand you went through a lot of trouble to keep me from being here." At this, Tenkou grimaced but did not say anything. The Suzaku warriors all looked rather confused themselves. Miaka was ready to break down crying at the sight of her friend, but she tried to restrain her emotions for the time being. They still were in the middle of a battle, after all.

"I'm sorry to say it was Seiryu who released Tenkou's seal," Yui explained. "However, this release came with certain conditions. First of all, Tenkou could not harm the Seiryu warriors or their priestess in any way. This of course makes the Seiryu warriors a formidable opponent to be faced with. But not a problem, of course, since they were all dead. Until now."

"Their time to be reborn..." whispered Chichiri. "Just as we were reborn. It's arrived."

"The warriors gather where the priestess is," muttered Hotohori. "Tenkou didn't want Yui to arrive in the book again, because it would signal the rebirth of the warriors."

Yui nodded. "In truth, I was never sick at all. Tenkou's curse was blocking my senses without hurting my body in any physical way. That's how he got around his end of the bargain. But now," Here she looked a bit mournful. "Now someone else had taken the curse on himself, so that I can be here."

"Someone else?" Tamahome questioned. "Who?"

"Does it matter?" Tenkou asked. "I can conjure up another curse just as quickly as I did the first time. And trust me, it won't only be your eyes that let you down this time." Yui cringed and held up her arms in defense (even though, looking back on it, it wouldn't have defended against anything.)

"I don't think so, no da!" Chichiri called. He pointed his staff as a sphere of green energy encompassed Yui, just as Tenkou's attack was ready to hit her. "Grab the staff!" he called. The other Suzaku warriors quickly gathered around, each touching park of Chichiri's staff. At first Maiyo was hesitant to join them, but Miaka urged her on.

"Only the priestess can combine the warrior's power," she reminded her. "Send their energy to Yui while she summons the Seiryu seven ."Maiyo nodded and reluctantly ran over to where the others were. Her hand was shaking as she grasped the staff right above Tamahome's hand. It was warm to the touch, even hot, like all the energy was building up and asking her where it should go. She glanced up and saw the barrier ahead of her. There, she thought in her mind. And instantly the sphere seemed to grow stronger, lifting her confidence with it.

"You can do it, Yui!" she called. "We'll protect you!"

"Thank you!" Yui called back. She looked up into the heavens. The constellations were of course, hidden by the clouds. But she did not need to see them to know where they were. "Hear me, my warriors!" she yelled, thrusting her hand into the air. "Here the voice of your priestess! Your time of sleeping is over! Return here and help us fight the evil which threatens this land!"

A force of blue light responded to the call. Flowing down from the skies, it found its way to Yui's palm, filling her body with energy. Around them, amid Chichiri's barrier, shadows began to form. Some were eerily familiar. Nuriko faced one of them in a fatal battle. Another had taken control of Chiriko and died at his hand. Still another had lured Miaka away from Tamahome only to try and take her for himself. (Actually, that was about three of them.) But for once, these shadows were not a threat, but a source of aid. If, of course, they could be trusted.

"I grow tried of this," said a voice. One of the shadows stepped closer to the group, revealing the form of Nakago. "We are awoken, sent back to sleep, then awoken again. I thought I said I wanted nothing to do with battles anymore."

"You yourself can do as you please," said Yui. "But you can't keep that seishi power forever. Time to pass it on, don't you think?"

Nakago grunted; it was his equivalent of an agreement, at least for the moment.

"Our priestess has a point," said Soi, also making herself visible. "Without celestial warriors and without a priestess, this world would cease to exist."

"I hate to interrupt an obviously fascinating conversation," said Miboshi. "But these Suzaku seishi won't last long. I can sense this barrier beginning to break."

Tasuki cursed under his breath. He was barely listening to their conversations, but he could feel his strength leaving him by the minute. If they didn't act soon, the barrier protecting them would collapse, and Tenkou showed no signed of fatigue.

"I'll take care of this," said Tomo, pulling out his shell. Quickly, he snapped it open and a deep blue vapor began to fill the air. It completely surrounded the seishi, Suzaku and Seiryu alike. And suddenly, the force being brought down on the barrier was gone.

"What did you do, no da?" Chichiri questioned, finally dropping his guard.

"I created an illusion to hide us," Tomo explained. "It blocks any sounds we make, as well as powers, from being sensed by Tenkou. Though I fear it will not last long."

As the ground stood, looking around, they could see a translucent figure of Tenkou attempting to find them though the illusion. Yui listened carefully. Above the shielding clouds, she could hear Tenkou's voice. He was muttering some sort of a curse.

"Watch it!" Chichiri warned, picking up on her concerned expression. "If he can't attack the Seiryu, he'll try to disable them."

"Then perhaps it would be best to summon a decoy," Nakago suggested. Tamahome was about to ask just exactly what Nakago meant by that, but a glance from Nakago to Miboshi answered the question for him. The monk child's weapon began to spin as an approximately human-sized creature began to arise from the ground just on the border of Tomo's illusory mist.

"Let's see what he does," Nakago said with a smile. As predicted, Tenkou reacted to the emerging figure and aimed his curse in its direction. The creature screeched and fell over, unable to do much of anything except twitch on the ground.

"A paralyzing spell," Chichiri observed. Maiyo gasped and stood back, trying to figure out which warrior was better to hide behind. Meanwhile, Tenkou seemed to have figured out that his target was a fake.

"Cowards!" he spat and fired a blast at Miboshi's summoned creature, blasting it to pieces.

"Oh, so we're gonna play like that, huh?" Tasuki asked, making a grab for his fan. "Rekka Shinnen!" It wasn't the move that the calculating Nakago would have called for next, but an offensive attack of some sort did seem appropriate. The problem was attacking without giving away their position. Soi quickly moved in and pushed Tasuki aside, sending a lightning bolt flying from the same area. The two elements blended perfectly together, causing a stinging blast to connect with Tenkou. Unfortunately, the demon was far from beaten.

"Let me try," Amiboshi volunteered, stepping up to play his flute. Everyone quickly covered their ears as the dreaded music began to flow. Even with their ears plugged, the sound seemed to draw the energy out of those within hearing range of it. Tenkou gasped as he listened to it - the attack was aimed for him and so he felt its effects much harsher. As it continued, however, the sound of the flute weakened. Suddenly, the sound stopped geminating altogether. Amiboshi fell over, pale and gasping for breath. Suboshi quickly ran to his brother's side.

"Is he alright?" Maiyo asked.

"He puts his own chi into the flute to produce its power," Suboshi explained. "But Tenkou was able to counter it, so he's exhausted his power."

"Foolish boy," Tomo sighed. "At this rate, this is destined to be an endless battle. Tenkou cannot harm us, yet our powers are not enough to harm him back. His only chance is that we exhaust ourselves trying to stop him."

"And our only chance is...?" Tasuki asked hopefully.

"To hope he gives up and goes away. He will continue his destruction unless something stops him."

At Tomo's reply, Tasuki's face fell. "That wasn't the answer I wanted, ya freak." Tomo narrowed his eyes, but glanced over at Yui. Bickering among themselves would not help anything and she and Miaka would be quick to put their warriors back in line.

"Let Maiyo finish focusing the Suzaku warriors' powers and channel them to Tamahome in the form of an attack," Chichiri suggested. "Perhaps that would increase our chances."

Maiyo nodded and glanced back at the staff she was grasping. To give Tamahome to power to attack meant drawing energy away from their protective barrier. They would have to rely solely on Tomo's illusion to conceal them, and she wasn't sure if she liked that idea. Still, they were killing themselves as they were... she slowly changed her thoughts from the barrier to Tamahome, sending the warm red light to his body.

As Suzaku's energy flowed into him, Tamahome's hair seemed to stand on end, taking on a lighter shade of blue. He reached his hands out and readied an attack.

Tenkou strained to see where the attack was coming from. His eyes fell to Maiyo and Yui. Struggling against the Seiryu's power, he prepared an attack aimed at the Suzaku priestess. The action was not unnoticed.

"Lady Yui!" Suboshi cried. The attack was not aimed well, a jagged black bolt hurling towards the general direction of Yui and Maiyo. Yet both of them were so completely focused on channeling their warriors energy that neither of them seemed to notice. It was a risk that Suboshi simply could not afford to stand by and take. Quickly, he took off running.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" Miboshi began to call out, but it was far too late for logic. Suboshi leapt in front of the girls, taking the full impact of the demon's attack right in his side.

Upon hear the slash of ripping clothes and flesh, Yui's frightened eyes opened widely.

"Suboshi!" she screamed. The boy collapsed at her feet. A stream of blood was exposed by a huge tear in the clothing along his side, but he had a huge smile on his face anyway. The more she got to know him, the more Yui was convinced Suboshi was a lunatic.

"Stop taking hits for me!" she snapped, kneeling down beside him. "You were just reborn, and now you're going to get yourself killed again on my account?"

"Hey," said Suboshi with a painful shrug of his shoulders. "That's a warrior's job, isn't it?"

"Everyone!" Nuriko suddenly interrupted. "Look at Tenkou!" All eyes turned. The attacks on them had suddenly stopped, and the reason was apparent. The demon was holding his head and reeling back, his own power seeming to turn in on him.

"He injured one of the Seiryu," Tomo observed. "He's evoked his own power and the power of Seiryu against him. It's over."

Even as Tomo spoke, the lines of lightning struck Tenkou, causing him to cry out in pain. "S-stupid boy," Tenkou hissed. "Why do something so foolish? Only to protect her?"

Suboshi smiled as sweat poured down his face, trying to suppress the pain. This was his moment of glory, and he was going to enjoy, even if his side felt like it was on fire.

"Stupid yourself," he replied. "I gave my life for her once. Who said I wouldn't do it again? Besides, watching you go down is well worth it."

Actually, you gave my life, Amiboshi mentally corrected. Even so, he had given Suboshi permission at the time. Until the end, their obligation was to protect their priestess. And he knew his brother wouldn't forgive him if Yui died when he could have saved her. Besides, he had a point. Watching Tenkou now was very satisfying. The demon's fingers curled underneath his hands, his body contorting in pain, writhing away into nothing.

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_A/N: I finally have the entire story up on my website! I always have those single scenes that take me forever to write and usually connect the climax to the actual ending. Anyways, one more chapter to go now. Thanks for reading! _


	13. Chapter 13

**Fading Senses by Katrina Forest - Chapter 13**

The Suzaku and Seiryu warriors watched Tenkou's death until the end. It was not a pretty scene to be sure, but perhaps it was the only way they could settle in their minds that it was truly over. There would be no sealing this time; Tenkou's greed had been his own death.

Mitsukake wasted no time in hurrying to Suboshi's side and healing his injury. It was a heavy one which took most of his energy to sew the skin and flesh back together, but at least it saved them from any fatalities.

"You're an idiot," Yui reminded him, and somehow he smiled as if it was a compliment. Soi walked up to the Seiryu and Suzaku priestess and bowed.

"Both of you have saved our world yet again," she said. Then glancing at Yui, she added on, "I think it may be time for another Seiryu priestess as well. You are long overdo to return to your world."

"Yes," Yui sighed sadly. Her thoughts flowed back to Tetsuya, still sitting back in the Konan palace. He had no way of knowing if she was safe or even if she was alive. All he could do was wait in the same darkness and silence she had waited in until he had reached out to save her.

"So, this other person who took your curse," Suboshi suddenly wanted to know. "I... don't suppose it's a girl or anything?"

Yui smiled. Suboshi was terrible at hiding jealously. "No, Suboshi, it's a guy," she told him.

"I was afraid of that," he muttered, blushing and looking towards the ground.

"Yui, now that Tenkou is destroyed, the curse should be destroyed as well," Chichiri noted. "You should go back to the palace and see how Tetsuya is doing."

Yui's face brightened at the thought. "Yes, that's right!" she cried, turning to leave, but not without bidding her warriors a quick farewell. After all, if it had not been for them, the battle probably would have been lost.

"I wish I could go with you, Lady Yui," Suboshi admitted. He always managed to arouse her sympathy. In a way, she wished she could somehow turn it into love for him. If she could force love out, she would return what he had so loyally given her. But something was pulling her back to the palace, where she knew someone else was waiting for her.

"There'll be another priestess," she whispered, even though she knew it would hardly be a comfort to him.

"None like you," he muttered, finally letting her go.

"Try not to get so distracted that you don't spend time with your man," Soi advised, shaking her finger at her.

"Don't try to come back and bother us again," Nakago muttered. Ashitare growled something of a reply, though it was hard to tell if he meant it to say anything other than 'feed me.' Teary-eyed, Yui waved good-bye to them. She thought of giving Suboshi one last final embrace, but decided against it at the last moment. Breaking apart was hard as it was.

Running in the priestess robes was not an easy feat, especially after a serious battle. More than once, Yui almost tripped over herself, but was usually back on her feet before Miaka or Maiyo had the chance to help her up again. All she could see in her mind was Tetsuya's face, smiling at her despite how weak he had to feel, waiting for her to return again. With quite a lack of etiquette, she burst through the palace doors and ran up the steps until she found his room. he was sitting up in bed, facing the window. What could she possibly say?

"Yui...?" he asked quietly. He could see her, couldn't see? Yui's breathing raced as she entered the room. The idiot was wearing his sunglasses as usual, but now he removed them to look at her face, his eyes shimmering like she had never seen.

"Tetsuya!" she cried, running up to him and tackling him so they both fell on the bed. She cried only a little, but it was out of joy. The one she cherished was safe.

"I'm alright," he told her. "Everything's back to normal." Yui nodded and kept holding onto him. When they first began to date, she hadn't taken it very seriously. Now somehow he had managed to become the most important person to her. No wonder Miaka and Taka acted so irrationally sometimes. When they were in love, they couldn't help it. After the embrace had ended, Yui sat up and slapped Tetsuya sharply across the face. He recoiled in shock, rubbing the place where he hand had hit.

"What was that for?" he cried.

"For scaring me half to death, of course!" Yui retorted. "What if the Suzaku and Seiryu warriors hadn't beaten Tenkou? You'd have that curse on you for the rest of your life!"

"Um, if I recall, if you guys hadn't beaten Tenkou, we all would've been dead anyway, so it would've made very little difference." Yui scoffed. Tetsuya wasn't supposed to have good comebacks, he was supposed to sit back and listen to hers. Sighing, Yui sat down on Tetsuya's lap and he took her hands in his own.

"I just wanted... to do something for you, to help you," he said quietly. "I'm not like your warriors, you know? I can't use chi or energy attacks to stop someone from hurting you..." Here Yui put her finger up to Tetsuya's lips and smiled.

"No, Tetsuya," she whispered. "You were the strongest warrior of all."

_Epilogue: _

After many tearful good-byes, Miaka, Taka, and Maiyo were able to prepare themselves for leaving the book and returning to the real world. Maiyo wanted to bring Chiriko with her to see if she could get any advice on her entrance exams. Miaka and Taka simply had trouble letting the world that interwoven itself in their lives become a page of the past once again.

Time had not passed much in the real world while they were gone. As far as Miaka could tell, it had only been two days, and the weekend was not even quite passed yet. She was grateful for that. If she disappeared for another month, her mother would start insisting that she and Taka file for divorce, with all the wild trouble he got her into.

Much again her better judgment, Yui retained her follow-up appointment at the hospital. Her eyes were retested, and everything came back as usual. 20-20 in the right eye, 20-15 in the left. Miaka always did pick on her that not only were her grades naturally better, her normal eyesight was too. Some of the doctors said it was a medical miracle. Others said her blindness was only a temporary condition, brought on by looking at the sun too long, or perhaps a blow to the head, although they couldn't find any head injury. The last of the doctors said she had been improperly diagnosed and was never blind to begin with. For Yui, it didn't matter. She was happy to have been able to enter the book just that one last time. Before she had feared it, and not without reason. The story did not treat the priestess of Seiryu kindly. But now somehow she had been able to help that world and the people in it continue on living, as Miaka had. Her hopes rested on the next girl that entered. That she would come to love that world and protect and she and Miaka had. The story would go on forever in their hearts.

The End.

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_A/N: Well, that's it. I hope everyone enjoyed. I didn't have an epilogue originally, but rather I had two different endings that I put together. Thanks so much for reading everyone. I do have another FY fanfic in the works, but I'm not sure what I'll post next. I recently got inspired to try working on a Full Metal Alchemist fanfic. (There goes my free time...) Thanks again! -Katrina_


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